The Office of Vice President Sara Duterte (OVP) on Tuesday, July 4, replied to critics who are calling out its purchase of millions worth of items for satellite offices, which was recently flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) for deficiency in observing procurement processes. In a statement, the OVP said their P688 million worth of purchase, which they claimed was "validated" by COA, actually "eventually passed the audit." But the OVP's statement did not shed light on the allocation of confidential funds and the decrease in the amount of assistance given to needy communities and recipients. "The COA findings and recommendations should be enough to disappoint ACT Teachers Partylist, and if only France Castro read the COA papers, it would have saved them the time and the energy to conjure wild speculations about OVP spending," OVP said. On Tuesday, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro criticized OVP for supposedly taking shortcuts in procurement rules. She urged the agency to be held accountable for its actions. "We are deeply concerned about the OVP's alleged shortcuts in procurement processes. This is a matter that should not be taken lightly, especially considering that millions, even billions, of taxpayer's money are involved," Castro said. OVP said that "for the information of the public and the education of Castro" and her partylist, OVP "has maintained an unqualified opinion on its financial statements." It also said that COA "did not issue any notice of suspension or disallowance against" Duterte's office.